500 ml bottle served fairly cold into a Murphy's pint glass. Purchased for about $6 CDN.

Appearance - Very black, so black that all light is eradicated. A small thin layer of brown head rests on top visible reducing down to small wisps of foam. Imposing.

Smell - Plenty of coffee, some peat and a hint of black licorice. Also traces of vanilla soaked coffee bean and a trace of maple syrup.

Taste - Not really like the nose, as there's a touch of dark chocolate, big roasty coffee flavor and transitions to a leather like flavor and even a bit of smoke. The vanilla picked up on the nose, didn't translate in flavor.

Mouthfeel - Smooth, slick, low carbonation, good feel for a porter.

Overall - Very well crafted toasty and earthy porter with plenty of coffee roastiness and a bunch of other subtleties that an experienced beer connoisseur may be able to pick up.

The beer pours out into a Duvel glass a deep brown almost black color with a 2 1/2" tan foamy head, that leaves some patches and legs of lacing as it slowly recedes to a layer of foam. Each sip leaves a coating of foam the becomes patches, and legs of lacing.

The strongest aromas include black chocolate and cocoa, along with some dark roasted malt.

As expected from the nose the flavors are strongly dominated by dark chocolate and cocoa, both supported by the background of bittered roasted malt. The hops don't seem to me to play much of an obvious role here but may be contributing to the bitterness. With only 6% ABV there's no alcohol detectable.

The mouth feel is medium bodied and smooth with gentle, persistent moderate carbonation. The finish is medium length and tapers off from the chocolate into persistent dry bitterness which seems to me to be more from the roasted malt than the hops. (It is also quite persistent and may be a bit stronger than some prefer.)

Overall I think this is a very well made beer with a lot to recommend it. The brewery says they have positioned themselves to produce high end premium ales to "enlighten the palate and thrill the senses." Seems to me as though they've done reasonably well at meeting that goal. I'd certainly be willing to have another sometime if it were possible to get it without the imported beer price tag it carries.

Pours a dark brown, near-black, with a respectable coffee-coloured head that dissipates fairly quickly. A delightful aroma of roasted chocolate malts with espresso or coffee bean undertones; lots to enjoy. The flavour is also well balanced with enough complexity to be interesting and to justify the 6% ABV. Elements of cocoa, chocolate and coffee with roasted malt highlights throughout the body. Surprisingly there is also a bitter hop backbone that leads into a delightfully dry and lingering finish.

Sampled this brew along with Renaissance's Scotch ale, thanks to a generous donor to the great beer cause here in sleepy Silver Springs, Calgary. This beer certainly looks the part of a so-called robust porter (as per the fine print on the label), a murky dark brown to almost black, although was noticeably lacking the red highlights you often get with a well-crafted porter from the Old World. Perhaps I just failed to see this but I still must rate accordingly. Fairly aggressive carbonation in terms of the billowing tan head as well as on the palate later. Too fizzy for me and for the style more generally. Aroma was pleasant enough, coffee and caramel, chocolate, considerable fruity sweetness like dried currants and raisins, a little fresh citrus rind from NZ hops. Standard high-end porter stuff but as was the case for the Scotch ale from this brewery, weighted towards the sweet rather than the bitter roasted elements. Palate yields a nice chocolate-covered raisins effect, a very smooth and refined roasted character, mellow smoke, some diacetyl butter that stays right where it needs to be, namely noticeable but not aggressive, and some interesting herbal flavors, including a pronounced mint note that strangely enough works quite well in such a dark beer and a smooth licorice drop style floral spice. Semi-chewy and of moderately thick body, with a little dry wood char in the reasonably dry finish. The final verdict? I tend to use many qualifiers in my reviews at the best of times, but this review is particularly tempered ("mellow", "a little", "refined", "not aggressive", etc. etc.). The beer comes off more as a brown porter than a robust one if you want to nitpick about style, which can be kinda fun. Everything is classy, unassuming, and downplayed, with the exception of the carbonation, although the beer is well-balanced and still flavorful.

A - Pours a very dark brown, verging on black with close to an inch of dense light tan head that slowly falls away. A fair bit of lacing is left down the glass.
S - Cocoa powder & roasty coffee aroma initially. With a swirl and deep inhalation some vauge fruity & floral notes come through.
T - Much like the smell - full of cocoa and roasted coffee with subtle fruit and floral hints,
M - Medium bodied, lowish carbonation and quite a dry finish.
D - A very tasty porter. Something I'd drink again.

Re-review with original Oct.2014..... Heat is gone. Wonderful beer. Zero chalkiness. No head after 10sec. Different beer altogether. Found this baby in the cellar. Me likie now! Age helped this girl out a lot! Buy buy buy!!!

Purchased at the LCBO for around $4.00 for a 500ml bottle. Served at 4deg C in a draught glass

A- 4.0- Opens well and pours a TON of dark head that lasts

S- 3.75- Lots of roasted malt and nutty smell.

T- 3.0- Not so good. Very hot. WAY too much roast and smoke. Overpowering.

M- 3.25- Not bad. Dry

O- 3.33- This is the highest I can go. Will not buy again. Cut down on the malt guys.

A-- Poured black, with just a bit of red on the sides of the glass. Got a huge head from the pour and looks to have at least medium carbonation. Head is a Brown Sugar color, very well constructed and held a 2 finger head for quite a while. Looks more like a root beer float.

S-- Fresh Licorice is the dominant smell, followed by coffee and dark sweet berry chocolate.Very big smell and quite earthy and a bit of a pungent smell.

T-- Still get a bit of the licorice but strong roasted coffee is very prevalent, more like overdrawn cold espresso. Quite bitter and still earthy. Very rich dark chocolate is also there, as well as blackberries and raspberries

M-- Coffee taste sticks around for a while but the rest of the flavor is a little flat and disappears very quickly, a little bit thin. Needs more hops. The coffee and chocolate flavor hides it well and in some ways overdo the hop presence. Could use a bit less carbonation.

D-- ABV, 6%, is very well hidden. Very easy to drink and the 500 ML bottle is a good idea. Australian brewers should do more of this bottling size. One in a sitting is enough for me. Well made beer and a good take on an English Porter.

Aromas of milk and dark chocolate. Some dark sugar. A touch of coffee.

Quite astringent on the palate. Burnt malt dominates for me in the beginning. It seems to mellow as my palate gets used to it. Chocolate starts to pokes its head through the burnt characteristics and it all rounds out nicely.

Appearance- Very nice black body with ruby highlights. A full bubbled head what leaves a fair amount of lacing. Slight indication of carbonation.
Smell- A real strong roasted nose with complexity between the malt used. There is cocoa and slight unroasted coffee bean sweetness.
Taste- A rich blend of dry roasted goodness. The malt drives an even bitterness through out each sip. The coffee bean is more evident in the nose, but the cocoa flavor is present behind the roasted flavor. Not overly complex but straight forward and enjoyable.
Mouthfeel- A medium body even with the carbonation, thickening as it warms to cellar temp. Dry body and assaulting so pair it with something good to eat.
Drinkability- Very good, try it with dinner. Although at 6%ABV its not really sessionable, I dare you to have more than a glass. It is a great change when the weather gets cold or you need a little roasted character.

Starts to gush and foams out of the bottle a bit. Pours a deep brown to black with a light tan foam on top. The head was more than half and it gradually dissipated.

Smells very roasted. Almost acrid to start with. Roasted malt and roasted chocolate plus licorice. A little off putting to begin with but these subside and a nice chocolate aroma comes through to work with the licorice.

Rich flavour of roasted malt, chocolate and licorice. The latter only there early. Plenty of intensity on the flavour scale.

High carbonation doesn't compliment the rich flavours. If it was a lot lower, this would really shine. Still some softness early and roast bitterness late that gives it a nice feel.

Good beer, shame about the carbonation. Plenty there, a shame the carbonation didn't help it be the beer it could and should be.

A- Brown/black, with a rather dark tan head. head retains well, and leaves a good bit of lace.

N- Really burnt malt aroma, bit of coffee and chocolate in there as well. oh and I do mean burnt not simply roasted. mild hop presence also.

T- the burnt coffee and caramel dominate, but burnt does not mean bad, it is a rather nice rich flavor for a porter. there is again only a mild hop taste as one should expect from a porter, and a hint of chocolate flavor as well.

M- a bit over carbonated for me, but other than the crisp nature of most kiwi beers, nice malty and dry. true to style other than the bubbles, but not anything special.

D- If I lived down in these parts (as in New Zealand at all, not just Marlboro) I would for sure make a habit of drinking this as a fall/winter session ale. drinks very nice even with a nice porter viscosity.

Taste & Mouthfeel: luxurious satin mouthfeel, incredibly smooth going down; great blend of berry and rich chocolate , coffee gives way to just right bitterness that seems to be both mild hops and roasted malt, and finally a lingering dark chocolate powder; great profile, like dessert in a glass, but not too sweet

Haven't reviewed anything in a while and was surprised to see that the scales are in quarter-points now - nice! Was motivated to review this because 1) I've never reviewed anything from NZ before and 2) this is a really good porter.

Poured into a pint glass, opaque near-black with cola-colored highlights and a light tan head of a cm that eventually fades into an uneven ring with some lacing. The pour was fairly agressive, and the beer was near silent with no splashing - I like that - demonstrates thickness and I anticipate it to be chewy.

Aromas are just awesome, like a fresh-baked piece of chocolate cake. Cocoa and sweet cream dominate, a little bit of brown sugar and cookies in there too. Super appetizing.

Flavorful on the palate too. A bit more molasses and roast, a bit less sweet chocolate than the aroma, with a fairly dry finish. I could drink this regularly. I had it with a spicy smoked turkey sandwich and it held up well. The label recommends it with "blue cheese and almost anything off the barbecue" and I'd agree, but I think it'd also be great with cheddar or some aged goat.

Maybe a over-carbonated for the style, but good body and nice drying finish, although with some lingering treacly sweetness coating the tongue. Overall, definitely worth the buy and I'll continue grab it as long as it's at the LCBO. Looking forward to trying more beers from Renaissance.

Poured from a 500ml bottle. Pours a rich, deep chocolate brown. The nose is a hearty blend of dark malt notes: caramel, nuts, chocolate. The flavour is equally meaty and robust, with notes of smoke, dark grains, coffee and roasted nuts. The creamy mouthfeel complements the rich flavours. This is a like a meal, one of the most flavourful porters we've had.

Appearance: Poured in to a chalice. Cola black. Carbonation consists of medium to large bubbles that develop a loose, frothy, and rather small head even with a fairly aggressive pouring. The head is a medium tan colour and retention is low - (rapid dissipation). Even after swirling it doesn’t stick to the glass and settles smoothly back into the ring.

Aromatics: Nose is full of dark fruits - dates/plums, with hints of vanilla and caramelized brown sugar, and mellow roasted coffee.

Taste: Starts somewhat fruity, and is quickly replaced with a grassy and slight alcohol punch, but finishes with a very impressionable cacao/espresso flavour. I’ve never tried to roast wheat grass, but if I had to describe the bitter - that’s what I would say is it tastes like toasted wheat grass. Rich bitter with a slight tang at the edges of the palate when it finishes.

Feel: A very robust character; medium weight and the lack of carbonation gives it a smooth and dry coffee texture.

Overall: A rich bitter nature so similar to coffee I would use it as an after dinner digestif, especially with a simple dessert like a fruit tart or pie and vanilla ice cream.

A massive beer. Black in the glass with a rich dark chocolate head. Big stinky cocoa aromas with a little hop action cutting through. Flavour is like an 85% cocoa chocolate with a little bit of roast beef thrown in. Slight hop to prevent cloying and clean the palate but still a bit chewy and sticky on the lips. Nothing bad to say about it really. This is a really good beer.

Appearance - Very dark, murky brownish-black... very much like muddy water, but somehow still appealing. Nice, fluffy tan head that is persistent and leaves nice rings denoting each swig line. Nice...

Smell - Srong notes of powdery cocoa, backed up by a nice wall of complexity consisting of hints of subtle berry-like fruitiness and perhaps oats. Alcohol reveals itself slightly as well, but very much in disguise.

Taste - Roasty chocolate flavors explode on the palate with a pleasant hop bitterness in the finish. Complexity not as apparent on the platate, but coffee and chocolate are well-balanced with hops and nothing is out of place for the style.

Drinkability - Excellent example of a porter in my opinion... very well constructed - complex, yet simple enough for a porter. Highly drinkabile brew, and a great introduction to renaissance brewing... hope they keep it up.